Domestic Violence Services Network, Inc. (DVSN) has always had strong connections with local police departments. In fact, DVSN was started with seed money from a Department of Justice (DOJ) grant through the Concord Police Department. Acton PD quickly joined Concord, with 10 neighboring police departments (PDs) and Hanscom Air Force Base signing on in the following years, growing the coalition into the 13 communities DVSN serves most directly today. DVSN’s relationship with police departments is fairly unique among domestic violence organizations. Our law enforcement partners send DVSN referrals and requests for service based on incidents they have responded to, so DVSN can follow up and provide any support and resources the victims may need. DVSN serves clients confidentially and separately from police but works with police to reach clients and to help implement client choices to increase their safety. DVSN also includes police officers in our biannual 40-hour Volunteer Advocate Training.
In May 2023, Andrew Amendola was sworn in as the new Chief of Police at Carlisle PD, one of DVSN’s partner departments. Chief Amendola came to Carlisle from Brookline, MA, where he worked his way up from Patrol Officer in 2006 to Lieutenant in 2019 before taking up the position of Chief in Carlisle last year. Chief Amendola is also a runner who has participated in two Boston Marathons, fundraising for Special Olympics as a member of the 2024 Boston Marathon Xtra Mile Team. Relatively new to the area and to DVSN, he attended DVSN’s September 2024 Volunteer Advocate Training – a 40-hour program over 3 weeks. Since Chief Amendola came from a department that was not partnered with DVSN and took the time to participate in our training, we were interested in his perspective as a new chief who had no prior experience with us. He graciously agreed to be interviewed for DVSN’s monthly blog. We asked him about his experience with domestic violence agencies and advocates, with DVSN, and his thoughts after going through our training. The interview is shared in this post, edited slightly for clarity, flow, and relevance.
DVSN: As a newcomer to the area and to DVSN, how have you found working with DVSN over the past year and a half?
Chief Amendola: I mean, for me personally, it’s been outstanding. It’s one of those things when I first got here that you kind of get thrown into all these organizations that work with the department, DVSN being one of them. And it’s been a seamless transition on my end to get to know the program and utilize it. It’s been great. I couldn’t have asked for an easier partnership.
DVSN: When you first came on board, what were you told about DVSN and did that differ from the actual experience of working with us?
Chief Amendola: I’ll say that it didn’t differ because I think specifically for Carlisle, there was a great reputation with DVSN and the officers here already, prior to my arrival. They had great things to say about the partnership. And once I started showing up to the meetings and getting to know some of the folks there, you know it hit home with that and backed up those thoughts as well.
DVSN: You participated in our most recent Volunteer Advocate Training. What were your impressions of the training?
Chief Amendola: I did just go to the training, [and]… it kind of expands your horizon on the knowledge of the program and the people. I always put it this way: if you’re sitting in a program and you’re working with people face to face, there’s that personal aspect to it. And I think those relationships are stronger because of that.
I thoroughly enjoyed the training. I thought it was a good lesson for me to understand the role of what an Advocate is and what they do. We work on different sides of the victim, so to speak, where, you know, we’re the first ones there showing up. So, it’s nice to see how the follow-up process works, and it’s nice to see how officers can be involved in that follow-up process and how the Advocates can help.
I will say a positive thing about the training was that any type of feedback seems to get submitted, critical or positive, the team does a good job at implementing the feedback in the moment. They’re upfront about it, they deal with it, and they fix it. And I thought that was pretty amazing and a good credit to the staff on that end.
DVSN: What made you choose to participate in DVSN’s training?
Chief Amendola: That’s a great question. For me, I decided to do the training because I felt it was important for me to understand the partnerships that this police department has. Where I came from in Brookline, we didn’t have a regional program. We had a domestic violence unit that had a detective, a sergeant detective, and an advocate in the station every day. So, coming to a newer department, I just wanted to kind of sit through the training and understand what the training was and how the program works. At the end of it, it was much more than that for me, for my own personal experience. It was great to meet other people involved in [DVSN] and network and those types of things. I think one of the biggest things is just being in a spot where if I’m going to send officers to this training, then I should also be attending it as well.
DVSN: Was your experience of the training different than what you expected going into it?
Chief Amendola: Yeah, it was extremely different. You know, oftentimes when you sign up for classes or go through stuff, it can just be PowerPoint presentations. But I give credit to your staff in doing a good job of doing different icebreakers and getting people to interact and getting people to naturally build relationships without even realizing they’re doing that in the class. So, there’s opportunity to do group exercises and discussions that really get you to work with and meet with different people. So, the expectations, from that point of view, blew it out of the water for me. It was a really good job at taking a topic and spinning it in a way where it’s interactive for the class rather than just sitting there and listening.
DVSN: As you know, DVSN trains volunteers, police, and community partners together. How did you find learning with that mix of participants?
Chief Amendola: Kind of what I said previously. I enjoyed it in the sense that it opens your horizons to outside of just law enforcement. For example, we heard a story of a survivor. You know, oftentimes when we work in policing, we arrest the person and then there’s the victim and then we have all these things set up for the victim afterwards, hopefully, like DVSN, and we usually never really hear the oftentimes horror story that these people have dealt with, not just this one incident, but for years. So, again, that was extremely eye-opening. And I think that those types of stories are beneficial specifically to people in our line of work where we’re dealing with victims at their worst moment and understanding that this might just not be a one-time thing. This has been something that’s been going on for, you know, years at some points. So, I like that part.
I like that there were some social workers in the class, and they brought a different perspective. I liked hearing stories from the Advocates because then you really get to see how the program works after the police deal with it. Just hearing from the people that do pick up the phone [to talk to the victim after an incident] and all those safety improvements, implementations that you guys have. For me, it was nice to see people still care and want to do this volunteer work. I think that was probably one of the nicest things on the whole and why mixing community with law enforcement gives that sense of hope like that there is still good in this world and people still want to help each other. And that’s why this program is successful. Because without that, there’s going to be no volunteers and the victims being left out in places where they can’t get the help that they need. So, I think that was probably the biggest aspect, too.
DVSN: It sounds pretty much like you think this is an effective model. Are there any other things you liked about it or things you didn’t like about it?
Chief Amendola: It’s not often that I sit in a class and can’t think of things like, I don’t want to do this next time. But it did make me think about what the critical feedback could be, right? And maybe it’s just because I went in with a completely open mind and sat down and enjoyed it, but I do think it’s a really good model. I mean, the only thing that struck my mind afterwards was if there’s ever a time, and I don’t know if this ever happens, where a survivor had a bad interaction with police, and now they want to be an Advocate, and with police being in the [training] room, if there’s ever any tension there? But I also think this model helps break that tension down because you’re putting officers on a personal level. So, it’s not just the perception of their bad interaction as police, it’s like, “Oh, that’s John or Andrew or Michelle”. It’s more personable in the class and that’s why the breakout sessions I think might help that, but that was just something that I was curious about.
DVSN: Many people see the police as sort of apart or something other from just everyday people. Working at DVSN we get to see the humanness of you all. For the civilians in the room, whether they have or haven’t had bad experiences, they get to have the police be humanized a bit more and they see the police as just people. Also, for the police, they see that not everyone’s against them and they get to remember that people are just people. It’s interesting to see how things progress from that first session all the way through the end of the three weeks.
Chief Amendola: Oh, yeah, I agree. I think you hit the nail on the head with how the training does an excellent job at humanizing the police officers in the room.
DVSN: Out of curiosity, did you look at the manual and supplemental materials at all outside of class?
Chief Amendola: I did, yes. You know, being a chief, I didn’t want to not have any of the right answers in front of everybody. Although, I will tell you my main goal and plan was to really just be a student in the class. It was a good exercise for me to kind of just go back to that patrol officer level and mindset and not be a chief looking at it. So, I really try to leave the title and the quote unquote ego of a chief at the door and really just take the time to mix in with the class and learn. So yes, I tried to be a good student as well in doing my homework.
DVSN: Do you feel the experience of participating in the training was different for you as a police chief as opposed to an officer or a dispatcher?
Chief Amendola: No, I don’t think so. Only because I really tried to take the approach of not being a chief in that training. I really tried to leave the rank at the doorway and just interact with people. You know, even some of the officers that I got to meet and talk with, I definitely didn’t want it to be awkward for them to have to work with me. And so I really tried to normalize the whole thing and just be an active participant.
DVSN: Do you think things might have been different if you hadn’t done that?
Chief Amendola: Well, I think it would have been a bit standoffish. Like in some of my groups, I think people might have felt like they can’t speak up because I’m there or they’re constantly looking for me to have the answer. Whereas I really tried to take a teamwork approach and just put out my opinions and let them have their own, rather than what [policer officers] are probably used to of following a rank structure at a department.
DVSN: What is something you learned or consider differently now after participating in DVSN’s training that you found particularly impactful or feel will be beneficial to you and your role as Police Chief at Carlisle?
Chief Amendola: I mean, for me, honestly, the exact reason why I took the course was just understanding the whole program and understanding the role of the Advocate. So, definitely the most impactful thing to me was to know that there’s help that exists beyond what we can do. And that was probably the most impactful thing because oftentimes, like I said, we’ll deal with the case and follow through to a certain point but then to know that there’s an organization that exists that does pick up that side of it and still work and care about the victim was pretty astonishing.
DVSN: Do you think attending DVSN’s training is beneficial for police officers in general?
Chief Amendola: Yes, 100%.
DVSN: And what about for dispatchers?
Chief Amendola: Yes. You know, they’re the ones that take the call first before we get dispatched to it. So, you know, oftentimes they’re relaying the messages, and they’re taking the phone calls, and they may have heard something horrible that happened in the background. And for them to see how the whole process works, because we all have like a link in the chain here, right? So, dispatchers are really the ones in the front that are taking the calls, and then [the police officers] are getting involved, and then on the back end, what kind of locks us all back together, is groups and organizations like yours (the justice system is in there, too), really making it full circle. So, it’s very beneficial for them to have the training as well.
DVSN: Years ago, an officer participating in the training shared that it actually had a bigger impact in his personal life than his professional life because as he talked about it with people in his personal life, some of them began disclosing abuse and wanting to talk to him about it. He ended up keeping the book DVSN gives out to trainees, Invisible Chains, in the glove compartment of his truck to always have on hand. To that end, how has the training impacted your personal life versus your professional life?
Chief Amendola: I think that’s a credit to the model that you guys do with the mixed civilian and law enforcement piece because, you know, this unfortunately is very much outside of our job and it has affected people’s families. Some people might have siblings or [other loved ones] that go through this, but I think by creating the model that you guys have, it kind of again hits home on the personal side of things. Because sometimes it’s not easy to, you know, take a step back from the law enforcement world and understand that sometimes officers deal with this on the mental health side of things, like, “I am going through something. I am having a problem.” So, I credit that officer because being able to have those types of conversations on a personal level rather than, you know, the police officer level, which can be different at times, and being able to use those books that you guys put out. I haven’t finished reading that book, but I have started it, and it’s impactful. And I think it shares other lessons outside of just the law that we know. So, I guess from an outside of law enforcement, personal side of things, it enlightens you further into what victims can experience and what types of abuse actually exist on those types of levels rather than just getting a call from dispatch showing up and then being in the moment. It’s eye-opening in that sense.
DVSN: You mentioned when you were at Brookline PD, they have a more in-house, single-advocate, case management-style procedure for responding to domestic violence cases. What do you think are the pros and cons of that approach versus DVSN’s model where we have many Advocates and our clients may interact with a different one for each contact?
Chief Amendola: It’s an interesting question. I don’t know. I think the benefits, the pros, of having the quote unquote case management style is the detective is also partnered with them. So, if they’re feeling like something’s going on or whatnot, there’s easier involvement with the police, and, for this example, it’s a detective who they are familiar with. So, the detective in that circumstance takes on a sort-of advocate role in a sense where they’re working in a close team partnership. I think that that part’s very beneficial. You know, I think the beneficial factor to DVSN is there are a lot of Advocates, right? So, if you don’t hit it off with one, you may hit it off with somebody else. And I think that’s probably the biggest beneficial factor.
DVSN: Yes, one of the things that has been mentioned to DVSN is, especially for either the clients who have tried telling people and have not been believed or just don’t have anyone to talk to, if they’re interacting with us more than once, they get multiple voices believing them, validating, talking things through with them.
Chief Amendola: Yeah, I think that’s an excellent point you bring up in reference to them getting more than one point [of contact]. And, you know, specifically if the Advocate’s a survivor and they experienced something, and then another Advocate is as well, and they experience something totally different, just being able to pluck different helpful ideas or hear different stories if they talk about things, yeah, I can see that being very beneficial.
I do think some of the differences between Brookline and Carlisle’s approaches to these cases may lie with size, you know. Brookline is 140 officers. It’s a very busy place. Quite possibly there could be a lot more of these types of calls there, just maybe due to population, right? So, I think that that model probably works for a place like that. So, maybe that’s where the difference lies.
And I do think, like I mentioned before, the pro is that you’re getting different perspectives, you’re getting different ideas. And I think the beneficial factor too is you get trainings, right? Like you guys are a big enough organization where you give back, you put the trainings out there. I know I’ve had a few [DVSN staff members] just have a training for civilians here in Carlisle that want to show up. And we’ve discussed doing that again. You get a couple people and, you know, and then you hear that maybe some of them reached out afterwards and that’s a success, right? I think that’s probably where there’s a difference, too.
DVSN: We’ve talked about Brookline PD’s approach and DVSN’s model. Have you worked with other domestic violence organizations in the past that may have done things differently?
Chief Amendola: Part of my growing pains here is coming from a larger department to a smaller department where more officers do more things rather than having specialties. But this kind of fits into that mold as well, where you do have the opportunity to work with these organizations in a better fashion due to that. Like, in Brookline, I wasn’t really working with them directly, but the unit was working with them. So, it wasn’t that there was a lack of working with the organizations it’s just, again, back to size, call volume, and those types of factors that really do play a factor [in the dynamic and process].
DVSN: Can you talk about a particularly positive, meaningful, or impactful experience you or your officers have had with a domestic violence incident?
Chief Amendola: I’m going to tell you a really impactful experience, but a lot of it’s still under investigation, so I can’t really get into the details of the case. It’s something that just happened recently. There was somebody who has been in the hospital, and they’ve been there for a few weeks, so the officers collected clothing and a bunch of different items for this person and dropped it off to them. And the message that I received back was, you know, not only did they boost the morale of the victim, but they also boosted the morale of the workers on the floor to see that people still actually care. And I just felt like that was important to share today because it’s nice to hear those things and, you know, I’m proud of the officers for doing that and proud to be a part of it. That was definitely something most recently that was very impactful. I believe [DVSN is] involved. Like I said, I don’t want to go into too many specifics, but they’ve been involved in, you know, they’re in the loop on it.
DVSN: There is a widespread misconception that domestic violence doesn’t exist in the suburbs and/or that the agencies that exist here have plenty of their own funding. Do you have any thoughts on combating those misconceptions?
Chief Amendola: I think one of the ways to do that [and something I think DVSN and the police try to do] is getting out into the community and hosting a meeting like we did before, getting the organization out there, you know. Whether it’s different fairs or town days or and whatnot, or just hosting them on a random night like hopefully we’ll do in [the future] and like we’ve done in the past. I think police departments do a good job now about being transparent in reference to some of the incidents as statistics. They’re displayed on weekly reports or monthly reports or yearly reports. But, you know, I understand that there is that stigma that needs to be broken down a little bit in reference to if towns can fund this or that there’s not a problem. You know, we have the Carlisle Mosquito [local newspaper] in town. They do different stories on those types of incidents that exist. And I think through those avenues are good ways to kind of get more community involvement to help support it.
DVSN: DVSN is fairly unique as a domestic violence agency due to our model and our relationship with the police. Do you have any insights as to why we are still so unique in this respect? What made it happen here in particular or prevents it from happening elsewhere?
Chief Amendola: I think it’s probably exactly what you guys have in your title: it’s a network. It’s not just an organization, it’s a network. Like, you guys bring 12 chiefs together quarterly [at Chief’s Council meetings] to talk about this. That’s positive, right? And that’s impactful in itself. And that’s a network. So, we’re all networking and even like me going through the training, I got to know some officers from different departments and it’s nice to build those relationships. I think oftentimes when things go bad, what is lacking is communication. But I think this model really helps open communication amongst communities.
DVSN: Are you happy with Carlisle’s and your level involvement with DVSN?
Chief Amendola: Yeah, I think we have a good relationship. I will say that there seems to be an overall positive opinion of your organization here. And I can honestly say I haven’t heard a bad thing about it. And I think that’s a compliment to the people that are doing the work for you guys. My goal is to take the involvement where it was and to kind of build upon it a little bit. That’s a main reason why I went through the training. So, you know, I’ll be identifying officers that haven’t gone through it and send them on to you guys for 40 hours or so.
DVSN: You came on board at the start of what was our 25th anniversary year. For that occasion, we developed the theme, “The Power of Positive Partnerships”. Do you think that that was a good and accurate theme for us?
Chief Amendola: Yes, I have nothing but good and positive things to say about this partnership so far. Give me some time… Ha, ha, no, just kidding! But it is very positive. It’s very impactful. I think your organization has done a good job at recruiting and putting people into good roles and spots that exist to make this so successful. Like I said, when I went through the training, you really saw that everybody complemented each other in a positive way. They backed each other up in a positive way and they really kind of picked each other up through the instruction of the whole thing and walking around and meeting different people in the groups. The whole thing was positive, and I think that’s just not for the training that’s part of the experience that exists with the liaison working with DVSN. I don’t know on the Advocate side and the victim side because we don’t hear so much about that, but I would, not that I want to assume, but I would also assume that it’s a positive interaction for them as well. I’ve seen nothing but positive. So, yeah, I would say that you guys hit a home run with that one.
DVSN: Is there anything else you would like the community to know about you, Carlisle PD, or DVSN?
Chief Amendola: From a community perspective, I think it’s important that the community understands that we do have this positive partnership that’s here if needed. They shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to you guys or to reach out to us in reference to some information. And, again, trying to communicate the message that these partnerships do exist and, you know, to break down some of the stigma that we discussed previously about how, you know, these incidents don’t happen in these types of towns. They do happen and if, unfortunately, it is happening to you, there are resources out there that can help. I think that’s probably the biggest message of it all.
DVSN: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Chief Amendola: On a personal note, if you can for me, just relay the message to everybody that was involved in the training that it was excellent training. You guys should be really proud of the training that you put on and to be able to include civilians and cops and all the like and still put on a fantastic training. It was great. I mean, cops, I can tell you personally, are sometimes some of the hardest people to train because we go through so much training due to the complexity of our job and the high pressure environment, and you were able to keep everyone captive and entertained on a tough subject. And I can tell you from my class, speaking with some of them on breaks and whatnot, they really enjoyed it. Big, big shout out to them and a credit to all you guys. So, if you can just pass that along, I’d appreciate it.
I appreciate you guys. And we’re here to help, so anything I can do to help.
DVSN: Great, thank you so much!
Chief Amendola: All right, take care.
Everyone at DVSN appreciates Chief Amendola taking the time to do this interview and share his perspective as a new chief who is new to DVSN. We look forward to continuing our positive partnership!
More about DVSN’s Advocates (including personal quotes from our Advocates), what they do, and the Volunteer Advocate Training we discussed at length with Chief Amendola can be found in DVSN’s March 2021 blog post, “Profile of a DVSN Advocate”. For more information on different ways police can assist the community, and domestic violence victim/survivors in particular, check out DVSN’s September 2021 blog post, “Officer Zane, Acton’s Service Dog: An Interview with his Human Partner, Detective Jon Stackhouse”.
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